Explore It Further
by brigittefitzgerald
Summary: A different outcome to the end of "The Girl In Question"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Angel, Joss Whedon does. Nor, do I own the characters of Fred, Illyria, Wesley, Angel, Gunn, or Lorne.

Explore It Furthur

Illyria stepped into Wesley's office in her modified form, as Fred. She'd intended to change back after the shells parents had left but had a question in her that she could not rid herself of. It made no logical sense to her, she was God to a God, once. She had to learn to walk in this world, because her world of ruling and armies was long dead.

She spoke in the slight southern twang that Fred had. She actually liked the sound of her shells voice, though she would never admit it.

"Wesley?" She asked quietly, and sensed him stiffen a little, "Are you, like...mad at me or something?"

He did not turn to her, "Stop it." He was quietly forceful, as if Illyria should know her place.

She straightened and spoke in her own voice, "Isn't it what you desire?" she flowed seemlessly back into Fred's guise, smiling and walking towards Wesley, "I mean, I love you, you love me, what's the big deal?" As she went to touch him he walked away from her.

"I loved her." He said putting emphasis on the last word.

Illyria straightened again, "You loved this," she said and looked down at her form in it's burgundy dress and she looked back up at him, "and part of you still does. I wish to explore it further." She said with a force to get the request out as fast as possible.

Wesley looked at her as if her face had melted and revealed the skull beneath. For a brief second, he thought that it was a ridiculous request but then went to his office door, leaving her in the room. Before he closed the door he spoke back to her,

"Do whatever you want, but don't expect me to worship you." And the door closed with a click.

Illyria stood in the dark office and smiled slightly, "Wouldn't dream of it." She licked her tongue over her teeth and looked at her reflection in the glass, "Hello, Fred."


	2. Welcome Home

Disclaimer: I do not own Angel, Joss Whedon does.

Authors Note: So after 2 reviews, I'm writing another little chapter. Be happy!

Explore it Furthur: Welcome Home Fred

To explore her new form and way of life correctly, Illyria decided to go back to Fred's home and get acquainted with the woman she'd killed. She walked there and turned on the lights, to see the blood red paint of the room screaming volumes into her now brown eyes. She sighed as she took in the extent that Wesley had cleaned up the room, and it wasn't much, except there was a box in the corner. She grabbed the box and went to the bed, sitting on and and began to know Fred.

Most of the items in the box were momentos, a few posters, pictures of people she actually recognized, and a fluffy white bunny with wire rimmed glasses. She lifted the bunny and looked at it, she turned her head to the side and she smiled at the toy, "I know you...Feigenbaum." She gently put the toy back in the box and took the box to the door.

She got up from the bed and went to her closet, opening it and started picking through the clothes, choosing a blue tank top and a black skirt. She dressed into her new clothes and stood there, looking at her profile in the mirror. She felt comfortable, in an odd way that was foreign to the Old One. Illyria shrugged and picked up the box, heading back to Wolfram and Hart.

Illyria walked back into Wolfram and Hart as Fred. She had a plan to explain to people why a dead girl is back from the grave. Only Wesley knew the truth, and she would keep it that way. She walked with her box to the lad and to her office, putting the box down and taking the items out one by one. She tacked the Dixie Chicks poster back up onto the wall and put their recent CD into her stereo system on the wall. She let it flicker to a song called 'Silent House' and just stood there unpacking Fred's belongings.

Once she was done, she walked back out of the lab, where some of her employees stared in wonder at her, she smiled and picked a few names out of her memory. "Angela, have you run those tests yet?" She asked and smiled. The blonde looked up at her and smiled sheepishly in return, "Yes, I just started them...Ms. Burkle."

Illyria put her hand on the young womans shoulder lightly, "Please, call me Fred."

Angela smiled and nodded, returning to her work. Illyria walked towards the door of the lab, her face falling back to herself, for the briefest moment, calculating that conversation. As she walked she, smiled at people walking by and knocked on the bosses door. Illyria didn't like Angel, but she knew that Fred practically worshipped the vampire. It was ironic, because she had wanted the world to worship her, and yet now she had to worship him.

She heard him mutter a "Come in." She slowly walked into the room and said, "Angel?"

He looked up and stared at her for the longest moment. She let one of her feet turn in her shoe and looked down at the floor. When she looked back up she had a misty moisture in the corner of her eyes, "I found a way back." She strained to say, as if she hadn't used her voice in a while.

Angel's mouth opened and closed, "But...your soul was destroyed. She told us, Illyria, she told us you were gone. Oh God...Fred?" It was like Angel was trying to prove that it was really Fred and not a hallucination.

She nodded, taking a breath and sitting in the chair across from Angel, "I don't remember everything, it was just white, very bright and warm, where I went. The last thing I remember in laying in Wesley's arms and asking him why I couldn't stay...then nothing." She looked down at her hands and stared up at Angel again, "It seemed like another lifetime since I woke up, in my body again. I was alive again, I hadn't died, and everything was fine. That is until I came back here and my employees looked like they'd seen a ghost. Which shouldn't be a surprise since Spike was a ghost for a while before becoming corporeal."

At that moment both Spike and Lorne entered Angel's office and could only see Fred from the back, not knowing it was her. Spike moved forward, "We need to talk, could you take this meeting a little later?" He asked as he looked briefly at Fred and then did a double take. Illyria stood, and turned slowly so that both Spike and Wesley could see her, "Hi boys." She said as the vampire and the demon looked at her, speechless.


End file.
